HOUSE AND GARDEN 
the scheme from becoming insipid. Thus, one can use wicker 
furniture dyed lavender with vari-flowered chintz coverings re¬ 
peating the tones of the walls and woodwork. 
A very cool color-scheme is black and white or gray, and, to 
offset it, use mulberry here and there. While mulberry is not so 
much in vogue as last season, it has retained its place in its proper 
use. With black and white may also be used a very little vivid 
orange and a very little blue-green. 
It is not always possible to have two sets of floor coverings. 
If the carpet or large rug must be kept, it can be cleansed, covered 
with newspapers laid smooth and then covered with denim 
stretched and tacked around the edge. The papers prevent the 
dirt from sifting in and keep away the moths. As the denim may 
be had in tones to harmonize with any color-scheme and is easily 
stitched up, it forms a cool, agreeable covering. Each year it 
can be taken up and packed away for the ensuing summer. If 
the rug is large it were wiser to turn the denim over the edges 
and sew it firmly underneath. 
The best rug for summer is one with no pile. Flat tapestry 
weave rugs come in all sizes and colors. The more expensive 
Scotch rugs, the cheaper American art rugs and the Colonial 
rag rugs all fall in the no-pile class. For medium price and 
service the domestic art rug is preferable. For bedroom use 
rag rugs have some justification, but the art rug is at all times 
best. These come in two tones with plain banded or fancy 
borders. They have countless trade names and are to be had 
in a variety of grades. 
For the first-floor rooms and the outside living-room fiber rugs 
are serviceable. It is well to avoid too fancy weaves and colors, 
as they make a room chaotic and too suggestive of the camp and 
porch, besides frequently having a wearing effect on the nerves. 
In refurnish¬ 
ing, if one wishes 
to use what is at 
hand as to rugs, 
they can easily be 
dyed. Thus, in a 
black-and-white 
room we may not 
be certain that 
we will like the 
scheme and there¬ 
fore do not want 
to go to the ex¬ 
pense of buying a 
black rug. As a 
The fact that peasant furniture is eminently adapted to the summer arrangement does 
not forbid it a place in an all-year decorative scheme 
July, 1915 
try-out we can have an old rug dyed black at a small expense. 
It is always better to have small rugs in summer time than large, 
as they are more easily taken up and cleaned, and, moreover, a 
sparsely covered floor gives a sense of coolness. 
To re-kalsomine a ceiling is a matter of small expense 
if the painter uses care. A newly tinted ceiling adds fresh¬ 
ness, and done now, it need not be redone in the fall. Always 
have it tinted to tone in with the color of the wall. For that 
reason a dead white ceiling is impracticable; moreover, it would 
show quickly the smoke from lamps, the fire and the furnace. 
The heavy, handsome velour or damask hangings at windows 
and doors are the most essential winter furnishings to be gotten 
rid of. Upholsterers will sometimes recommend their being left 
up hung in bags, but nothing is more ghostlike in appearance 
than these great, sheeted things dangling in midair. Take them 
down and substitute at the doors a plain cotton rep, which hangs 
well and is inexpensive. At the windows nothing is more effective 
or partakes more of the summer gladness of color than chintz. 
Narrow-width cretonnes in excellent patterns and colors come at 
twenty cents a yard; double-width linens in beautiful design and 
wonderful colors come as high as $4.50; and one’s choice lies 
all the way between. For furniture coverings the 50-inch width 
cuts to the best advantage, but for the hangings the full width 
is too broad for the general run of window openings and the 
split width looks a little scrimpy. Use the 30-inch width. 
An excellent way to treat a window is to put next the glass 
a cream scrim with a wide hemstitched hem at the bottom. This 
curtain shields from the strong glare and prevents the dust from 
blowing in. As it is readily washed, a fresh, crisp appearance can 
always be maintained. Inside these could be hung the chintz 
curtains, preferably with a valance. The valance shuts off the 
top light, serving 
somewhat as the 
awning does out¬ 
side. It also gives 
a good finish to 
the top of the 
w i n d o w a n d 
hides the rod. 
Some chintzes 
look best with the 
light coming 
through them and 
showing the color, 
so they are best 
left u n 1 i n e d ; 
A couch of ihese lines and light structure is always serviceable. Its decoration can 
match the hangings, and its tone the walls 
